Family Research Council

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This week, FRC played a pivotal role in a federal judge's ruling that the Obama health care law is unconstitutional. FRC's Special Counsel and Director of our Center for Religious Liberty, Ken Klukowski, drafted an amicus brief cited by Federal Judge Roger Vinson in his ruling. The Judge said he relied "heavily" on Klukowski's carefully-reasoned argument that the Obama measure's mandate that all Americans hold health insurance cannot be severed from the rest of the Obama plan -- and that, thus, the entire law has to be jettisoned. Read more here.

Also, Tom McClusky, FRC Action's talented Senior Vice President, has provided this valuable summary of key congressional pro-life legislation. As the new Congress moves forward, urge your elected representatives here in Washington to support these important measures.

Sincerely,

Rob Schwarzwalder

P.S. On February 6, America will celebrate the 100th birthday of one of her greatest sons -- Ronald Reagan. To read President Reagan's speech to the National Association of Evangelicals about the moral foundations of his historic fight against Communism, click here. Also, visit the Reagan Library site for a bracing review of the life of this remarkable, heroic American.

Homeschooling

• "The Role of Ideologies in Christian Education," Andrew Walker, Mere Orthodoxy
• "The Roar of the Lion Father," Todd Zywicki, The Washington Times

Legislation and Policy Proposals

• "Ave Maria University: A Challenge Among Friends," Hadley Arkes, The Catholic Thing
• "Is Chick-fil-A Anti-Gay?," Peter Wood, The Chronicle of Higher Education
• "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades," Trish Williams, Matthew Rosin, and Michael W. Kirst, American Enterprise Institute
• "Youth on the Agenda: Social Development and Ulterior Motives," Tyler Ament, Turtle Bay and Beyond

Government Reform

Regulation

FRC's friends at the Independent Institute have developed a 'Government Cost Calculator.' Created by economist Craig Eyerman, the calculator is a bracing reminder that government is just too big and costs far too much.

• "The Problem with Printing Money," James Pethokoukis, Commentary Magazine
• "US Policymakers Look for Ways to Cut United Nations Funding," Samantha Singson, C-FAM
• "Obama's regulatory deja vu," William F. Shughart II, The Washington Times

Waste/Fraud/Abuse

• "Just How Much Help Do Businesses Need from Uncle Sam?," Rob Schwarzwalder, Family Research Council
• "America: The Left's Dispensable Nation," Abe Greenwald, Commentary Magazine
• "Where Did the Stimulus Go?," John F. Cogan and John B. Taylor, Commentary Magazine

Bureaucracy

• "House Should Improve Its Ethics Standards," Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute
• "How the GOP Can Redeem Itself: The Promise of Family-Centric Tax Reform," Robert W. Patterson, The Family in America

Health Care

Abstinence

• "Irish Youth Push MDG Misinformation for Sex Rights Agenda," Tyler Ament, Turtle Bay and Beyond

Conscience Protection

• "The Constitutional Right to Refuse: Roe, Casey, and the Fourteenth Amendment Rights of Healthcare Providers," Mark Rienzi, Social Science Research Network

Health care reform: Political and Legislative efforts

• "ObamaCare Unconstitutional -- Why Judge Vinson's Ruling Is So Important," Ken Klukowski, Fox News
• "Obamacare Meets Its Death Panel," Erick Erickson, RedState
• "ObamaCare's Day in Court," David B. Rivkin, Jr. and Lee A. Casey, The American
• "Repeal is Job ##1," Michael J. New, The Public Discourse
• "Prescribing Poison: Why ObamaCare Delivers the Wrong Family Medicine," Bryce J. Christensen, The Family in America
• "The moral dividend from replacing Obamacare," D.C. Innes, WORLD Magazine
• "Virginia's Health Care Lawsuit Expedited by Fourth Circuit," Krystle Weeks, Bearing Drift

Homosexuality

• "Same-sex marriage is contrary to the public interest," Peter Sprigg, The Baltimore Sun
• "74: Don't Ask (Awkward Questions); Don't Tell (The Long-Term Consequences)," Peter Jones, Truth Xchange
• "The Pentagon Surrenders: How the Pursuit of 'Diversity' Places the Military at Risk," Elaine Donnelly, The Family in America
• "Germany: constitutional court legally recognises "lesbian" partnership of a man who thinks he's a woman," J.C. von Krempach, Turtle Bay and Beyond
• "UN Secretary-General Expresses Support for Homosexual Rights," Samantha Singson, Turtle Bay and Beyond
• "Divisions on the Right Over Gays in Its Ranks," Eric Eckholm, New York Times
• "HUD Proposes New Rule to Ensure Equal Access to Housing Regardless of Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity," Department of Housing and Urban Development, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (Jan. 20, 2011)

Sexually-transmitted disease

• "Study: Rise in some cancers linked to oral sex," Amanda Gardner, USA Today

Human Life and Bioethics

Abortion

• "Restoring the Cradle of Liberty," Tony Perkins, Family Research Council
• "Attitudes about Abortion," Karlyn Bowman, American Enterprise Institute
• "14 Ways to Help Unborn Babies," Randy Alcorn, Church Leaders
• "The Lazy Slander of Pro-Lifers," Helen Alvare, Greg Pfundstein, Matthew Schmitz, and Ryan T. Anderson, Christianity Today
• "Abortion bill repeats several past ideas," Dion Lefler, The Wichita Eagle
• "New UNFPA Director Wants Abortion for Youth," Tyler Ament, Turtle Bay and Beyond
• "Video sting nets another abortion clinic," Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow
• "Is Abortion Good For Girls?," Maggie Gallagher, Real Clear Politics
• "Abortion's dangerous euphemisms," Jeff Jacoby, Boston Globe
• "Reckoning with Roe v. Wade," Justin Dyer, The Public Discourse
• "The Pride of Silence," Todd Hartch, The Public Discourse

Bioethics and Biotechnology

• "Deaths from IVF are rare but relevant," Physorg.com

Euthanasia and End of Life Issues

• "France free of euthanasia," Charlie Butts, OneNewsNow
• "HBO documentary probes Oregon's euthanasia law," Justin Lowe, Reuters
• "Oregon sets record for assisted suicides," Tom Strode, Baptist Press

Stem Cell Research

• "Growing New Blood Vessels," David Prentice, Family Research Council
• "Changing Skin Directly to Beating Heart Cells," David Prentice, Family Research Council
• "Breast Reconstruction with Adult Stem Cells," David Prentice, Family Research Council
• "Adult Stem Cells Treat End-Stage Liver Disease," Dr. David Prentice, Family Research Council

Women's Health

• "Morning after pill linked to increase in STIs, study shows," PhysOrg.com

Marriage and Family

Adoption

• "Arizona bill gives married couples preference in adoptions," The Arizona Republic
• "Mass adoption grant support couples with infertility," Jennifer Brinker, St. Louis Review

Family Economics

• "On Wealth and Poverty," John Moser, The Ashbrook Center
• "Debt and Federalism," Justin Paulette, The Ashbrook Center
• "Debt and Democracy," Harold James, Project Syndicate
• "The economic health of the nation," Alex Tokarev, WORLD Magazine
• "How Roe v. Wade Aborted America's Economy," Robert W. Patterson, The Washington Examiner

Family Structure

• "My Take: How Christians should rethink sex," Tyler Blanski, CNN
• "Marriage is good for physical and mental health," Physorg.com
• "Should dads lay off baby care?," Mariette Ulrich, MercatorNet

Parental Rights

• "Idaho lawmakers take aim at children's treaty," Associated Press

Media

Pornography

• "Commercialized Sex and Human Bondage," Ellyn Arevalo and Mark Regnerus, The Public Discourse
• "Sex Gone Wrong," R.J. Snell, The Public Discourse
• "Child sex rings spike during Super Bowl week," Rick Jervis, USA Today
• "Hard Core," Natasha Vargas-Cooper, The Atlantic
• "The church of porn and football," Eric Marrapodi, CNN

Broadcast and Cable Decency

• "Humor and Prison Rape Culture," Jordan J. Ballor, The Acton Institute

Internet

• "Churches increasingly fans of Facebook, other social media," David Roach, LifeWay
• "Why Facebook (and Your Church) Might Be Making You Sad," Russell D. Moore, Moore to the Point
• "Obama's Antique Vision of Technological Progress," Michael Barone, American Enterprise Institute

Religion and Public Policy

Religious Liberty

• "The Obama Administration's "Don't Care" Policy on Christian Persecution," Ken Blackwell and Robert Morrison, The Huffington Post
• "After Cape Town: Still Learning to Talk About Business and Ministry," Brett Elder and Stephen J. Grabill, The Acton Institute

Religion in American Public Life

• "The Good News About Evangelicalism," Byron Johnson, First Things
• "Stewardship and the Human Vocation to Work," Gregory Jensen, The Acton Institute
• "Michael Vick and the Politics of Prison Redemption," Jennifer Graber, History News Network
• "Obama discusses faith at National Prayer Breakfast," Associated Press

Secularism

• "Hawaii senators hold prayer despite vote to end it," Mark Niesse, Associated Press

International

Israel

• "Israel Is Top Foreign Destination for 2012 Republicans," Scott Conroy, RealClearPolitics
• "Evangelicals blast Paul on Israel," Ben Smith, Politico

Religious Persecution

• "Bowing and Kowtowing: Is This a Foreign Policy?," Ken Blackwell, The Huffington Post
• "What is at Stake in Sudan," William Saunders, The Catholic Thing
• "Egypt's churches turn to prayer," Timothy Morgan, Christianity Today
• "Christians in the Middle East," Martin Peretz, The New Republic
• "Experts Say Christian Communities in Middle East Will 'Die Out' Unless Urgent Action Taken," Caroline May, The Daily Caller

Sharia law -- U.S., foreign

• "Why didn't the Obama administration see this coming?," Will Inboden, Foreign Policy
• "Regime Changing," James V. Schall, S.J., The Catholic Thing
• "The Friendly Skies," Michael Auslin, The American
• "The Muslim Brotherhood and Egypt," Danielle Pletka, The American
• "American identity and the challenge of Islam," Jennifer S. Bryson, University of Notre Dame

The Courts

"Natural Law, Natural Rights, and American Constitutionalism" is a new project by scholars associated with the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University." Dr. Robert George, an FRC Board member, directs the Madison Program. This important new Web site provides important information about the philosophical foundation of the American Founding -- a foundation as important today as it was at America's beginning. Learn more about this new initiative by clicking here.

Constitutional Issues

• "The Supreme Court is Not Our Benevolent Dictator," Rob Schwarzwalder, Human Events
• "The Constitutional Moment," The Wall Street Journal
• "I'm Just a Bill, Yes, I'm Only a Bill: The Constitutional Way to Make Laws," Anna Leutheuser, The Heritage Foundation
• "Risk, Uncertainty, and Rule of Law," Samuel Gregg, The Public Discourse

FRC Amicus Briefs

• Amicus Brief: Camreta v. Greene

Judicial Activism

• "New Black Panther Report Confirms: Politics Over Law at Obama Justice Department," Hans von Spakovsky, The Heritage Foundation
• "Judge's Ten Commandments Display in Courtroom Ruled Unconstitutional," Andrew Cohen, Politics Daily

Judicial Nominations

• "Senate Looks at Holds, Confirmation Delays," Alex M. Parker, U.S. News & World Report
• "Obama's Lawyer Previews New Push to Confirm Judges," David Ingram, Legal Times

Other News of Note

• "A Sputnik Moment, or a Skutnik Moment?," Robert Morrison, Family Research Council
• "An Unserious Speech Misses the Mark," Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal
• "When Reagan Spoke Truth to Soviet Power," Paul Kengor, The Wall Street Journal
• "In harmony with America," Cal Thomas, WORLD Magazine

Book reviews

• "Book Review: The New Holy Wars: Economic Religion vs. Environmental Religion in Contemporary America," Eliza Thurston, Family Research Council
• "Slaves for Christ: William Wilberforce, the Clapham Sect, and the "cabinet of philanthropists," Joe Loconte, Philantrophy Roundtable
• "Book Review Ends in "French Republic v Joseph Weiler"," Terrence McKeegan, Turtle Bay and Beyond
• "Heroic effort," Marvin Olasky, WORLD Magazine
• "Emigrant Nation," David A. Skeel, Christianity Today